Sharing the road
Which statement about the blind spots of large trucks is correct?
- A tractor with a long hood can have a blind spot 20 feet deep in front of it. Correct answer
- A large truck has smaller blind spots on its sides than a car does.
- A large truck has no blind spot directly behind it, thanks to its mirrors.
Why
Large trucks, buses and RVs are not just bigger cars, and their blind spots grow with their size. The manual calls these areas no zones and describes three of them. In front, a tractor with a long hood can have a blind spot of 20 feet, so cutting in close ahead of it can put you where the driver cannot see you. On the sides, the blind spots are larger than a car's, not smaller. Behind, the blind spot is deep, and staying there also hides the traffic ahead from you. That is why the mirror claim in the third option fails. Picture the truck surrounded by those three no zones, 20 feet in front, wide on both sides and deep behind, and stay out of all of them.
Where this comes from
New York State Driver's Manual (MV-21), April 2026 version. The correct answer is A tractor with a long hood can have a blind spot 20 feet deep in front of it.
More on sharing the road
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